Libri de re rustica
Venice: Heirs of Aldus and Andrea Torresano, 1533. Second Aldine Edition. Hardcover. Octavo. [54], 295, [1] leaves. 8.5 x 5.5 inches. 19th Century binding. Half calf over marbled paper-covered boards. Gilt lettering, decorative tooling, and rules to spine. Spine divided into five compartments by gilt tooling not coincident with underlying bands. Two-tone dyed calf spine label in two gilt-ruled and tooled compartments for title and year. Patterned pastedown endpapers. Italian cataloging plate on front pastedown: “Cancello B. Ordine IV. Numero di Catalogo 21. Opera in unico Volume.” Blue binder’s stamp adjacent to colophon device on title page. Complete as printed, including Index (added in this edition) and three woodcut Aldine “Festina Lente” colophon devices (on two title pages and final leaf). Wide margins preserved. Initial spaces contain guide letters only. Italic and Roman mixed typeface. Sixteen woodcut diagrams of tools, equipment, and land parceling. The second page of the preface (carried over from the 1514 edition) has been printed as the fourth page in the 1533 edition, with all known copies having the pagination in this order. Front and back hinges cracked with bands holding. Lower backstrip loose from text block. Stitching tender for single signature comprising first title page and Aldus’s original (1514) preface, inserted before second (1533) edition material (Index, &c.) added in front of main text. Else, original text block tight and square. Slightly age toned. Old marginal annotations inked in Latin. Scattering of wormholes through text block and on front board. Classical works of Roman agrarian writers providing DIY guidance in agriculture and husbandry to farmers and landowners. Very Good. Item #292
Price: $3,500.00